Genentech recently announced in a statement that Esbriet (pirfenidone) has been recommended in the new American Thoracic Society’s (ATS) idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) treatment guidelines. This recommendation, which is published as a resource for clinicians, is conditional and the ATS notes that healthcare providers should always discuss the pros…

In a new study entitled “Trends in Hospitalization for Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension,” researchers performed a retrospective study where they analyzed data concerning hospitalizations of children with pulmonary hypertension. The study was published in the journal Pediatrics. Pulmonary hypertension is a condition in which high blood pressure…

A team led by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently published in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure that patients with pulmonary hypertension can benefit from exercise training. The study is entitled “Efficacy and Safety of Exercise Training in Chronic…

A variety of biomarkers are elevated in the serum of patients with systemic sclerosis-pulmonary arterial hypertension (SSc-PAH). Researchers have mostly been studying these markers to determine if they can be used to help diagnose SSc-PAH or if they can serve as targets for new treatments. Alternatively, a study from Northwestern…

Results from a recent study published in the journal Advance Therapy, showed that pirfenidone (known by the brand name Esbriet from Roche) is effective and has a safety profile consistent with those seen in the Phase III clinical study ASCEND for the treatment of IPF. According to…

In a recent study entitled “Lupus-Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Variable Course and Importance of Prompt Recognition”, researchers present a case study of a young woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) exhibiting pulmonary arterial hypertension, a potentially lethal SLE-manifestation. They highlight the need for a prompt recognition of PAH in…

Epigenetics is a fast-growing research field that scientists are applying to many different areas of medicine, such as cancer, peripheral hypertension and asthma. Can the study of epigenetics be useful for understanding and treating pulmonary arterial hypertension as well? A recent article, titled “Epigenetic modulation as a therapeutic…

Derrik Neal was first diagnosed with an idiopathic form of pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) 17 years ago, during a time when this rare, fatal disease had a grim survival rate of 5 years at most. His earliest symptoms first manifested as shortness of breath, which he simply related to his…